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This question is a follow-up to the "no-form-for-the-oral-law" question.

These are the systems of organizing the total Oral Law (as opposed to Mitzvos Classification systems) that are known to me:

  1. By weekly Parashah (like Midrash Rabbah), Posuk by Posuk, all sayings around that Posuk

  2. The 6 Sdarim and the 60 (or more) Tractates - Mishnah by Misnah.

  3. Rambam's 14 books of Mishnah Torah, based on the 613 Mitzvos but covering practically all the issues discussed in the Talmud.

  4. Books covering the 613 Mitzvahs only (Chinuch, Sma"G)

  5. Partial law - only potentially observable Halochos in these times: the 4 Turim and Shu"A and Kitzurey Shu"A

Are there additional systems of organizing the Halochos of the Oral Law? Are there any contemporary research or proposals?

Al Berko
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  • What do you mean by partial practical law? That they don't cover the entire oral torah? – robev Dec 12 '18 at 14:12
  • Every gaon and rishon that ever wrote a siddur for starters. – user6591 Dec 12 '18 at 14:14
  • @robev Partial is partial - only potentially observable ones. – Al Berko Dec 12 '18 at 14:18
  • @AlBerko huh??? – robev Dec 12 '18 at 14:38
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    Regarding number 4: Chinuch is also divided by weekly parsha, and Smak is divided into seven pillars. – Joel K Dec 12 '18 at 15:32
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    Can you add some motivation for wanting this information? Surely there are a plethora of possible organizational schemes – Double AA Dec 12 '18 at 16:02
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    The Chareidim organizes by body part. And arguably, the Tur is a variant of the 6 sedarim, collapsed because there is little to say about 2 of the sedarim nowadays: Orakh Chaim = Zera'im (Berakhos) + Mo'eid; Yoreh Dei'ah = Qodshim + Taharos (including the mesechtos qetanos); Even haEzer = Nashim; Choshein Mishpat = Neziqin. – Micha Berger Dec 12 '18 at 16:24
  • And category 3 is a further development of category 4 -- the books of the Yad are organized by category and down to mitzvah, mapping 1:1 with the seifer haMitzvos. – Micha Berger Dec 12 '18 at 16:26
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    "1. By weekly Parashah (like Midrash Rabbah)". IR: Granted that Midrash Rabbah is part of the Oral Torah, however Midrash Rabbah is NOT an organization of the Oral LAW. – IsraelReader Dec 12 '18 at 16:46
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    @MichaBerger The 6 sedarim doesn't seem to be a principle of the Tur's contents. e.g. tsitsit and tefillin should be in Yore De'a (in Mishnah in Menachot), interest should be in Choshen Mishpat (in Mishnah in Bava Metsia) – b a Dec 12 '18 at 16:56
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    Possible duplicate of Mitzvot distribution by categories – Salmononius2 Dec 12 '18 at 19:02
  • @IsraelReader: How about "(like the Midrashei Halakhah: Mekhilta, Sifri, Sifra et al.)"? – Micha Berger Dec 12 '18 at 20:08
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    @ba: You're conflating overall organizational structure with specific examples. The general topics parallel. Menachos isn't about tzitzis; it is in there because of topic drift because the Mishnah is dialectical. The Tur is not, so topics go where they fit in the scheme. It is VERY significant that ribis is not fiscal law. Charging interest is not a matter of financial dishonesty or unfairness. It's a lack of brotherliness. Which is why the Baal haTurim put it where it belongs -- in YD. – Micha Berger Dec 12 '18 at 20:14
  • @MichaBerger The so-called Midrashei Halacha seem to be primarily scriptural exegesis. – IsraelReader Dec 13 '18 at 18:11
  • Yes, the map the verses to the halakhah. They are exegetical, but they are also thereby organizing halakhah on scriptural limes. – Micha Berger Dec 13 '18 at 18:30
  • @MichaBerger The prevalence of Aggadic material in theses Midrashim belie the notion that they're intended as LAW CLASSIFICATION systems. – IsraelReader Dec 16 '18 at 06:04
  • They aren’t law classification syystens, they are precursors of the moshnah from a time when halakhah was still all about how to use 13 or 19 rules of derashah to derive new laws. http://www.aishdas.org/asp/midrashei-halakhah – Micha Berger Dec 16 '18 at 07:21
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    They are subject to that legal structure, and thus end up classifying law by verse. But your argument is like excluding shas from the discussion because it has more aggadita than does Toras Kohanim. – Micha Berger Dec 16 '18 at 07:22

2 Answers2

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R. Eliezer of Metz organized his Sefer Yereim under seven “pillars”:

  1. Arayot
  2. Food
  3. Things prohibited to benefit from
  4. Monetary prohibitions
  5. Matters which harm other people but do not involve theft
  6. Matters which affect only G-d
  7. Matters which affect only G-d and are not dependent on speech
Joel K
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  • Isn't that his #4, just dividing the 613 into 7? – robev Dec 12 '18 at 15:24
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    @robev Arguably. But then again, Mishneh Torah is also the 613 divided into 14 – Joel K Dec 12 '18 at 15:31
  • I think a clear difference is that the Chinuch Smag and the like cover only the 613 Mitzvos, where Rambam goes far beyond mentioning the Mitzvos only, but mimics the Talmud in covering a wide spectrum of dos and don'ts. – Al Berko Dec 12 '18 at 17:29
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Rabbeinu Yona (Sha'arei Teshuva, gate 3) orders the commandments by severity of their punishment (מעלות חומר המצות ואזהרות וחלוק העונשים):

  1. Rabbinical commandments
  2. Positive commandments
  3. Negative commandments that can be rectified by a positive commandment
  4. Negative commandments not transgressed through an action
  5. Negative commandments transgressed through an action
  6. Commandments punished by death carried out by heaven
  7. Commandments punished by being cut off (karet)
  8. Commandments punished by death by a court
  9. Commandments one is obligated to give up one's life not to transgress
  10. Commandments punished by losing one's share in the World to Come
b a
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  • THis also covers the 613 Mitzvos only, not the "Whole Halacha". See my comment to Joel on the difference. – Al Berko Dec 12 '18 at 17:29
  • @AlBerko Wouldn't this scheme be able to cover all of the biblical and rabbinic commandments? – b a Dec 12 '18 at 17:58
  • I don't think he speaks of a system, he just shows that the Mitzvos are not equal and hierarchical. – Al Berko Dec 12 '18 at 18:14